Senior Product Manager Cutlery

Are you ready to join an international company that is focused on creating sustainable products for foodservice and airline industries?

Probably at some point in your life you traveled on the plane & ordered some food or went to your nearby takeout place to buy a salad for lunch. In this case, you might have seen deSter products and didn’t even know it. A lot of people don’t realize that packaging world can be exciting, but it is more than that, especially when it comes to food. deSter is unique in its industry because we design and manufacture packaging as well as some additional complimentary products such as amenity kits, airplane trolleys & condiment packs. Our purpose is to create sustainable food and travel experiences and we need you on this journey.

If you want to be a part of a company that strives to create a better future and change how we look at food packaging, you are in the right place.

Job Summary

With a strategic vision and a passion for innovation, the Product Lead Cutlery drives the overall product portfolio strategy and ensures alignment with market trends and business objectives. This role leads product innovation initiatives and manages high-impact customer requests and tenders in collaboration with cross-functional teams.

As the key driver of portfolio growth, the Product Lead Cutlery combines strong commercial skills, customer engagement, and financial insight to inspire stakeholders through clear communication and persuasive product pitches. The role partners closely with Product Marketing to deliver successful product campaigns, while maintaining market and cost price analyses to guide strategic decisions.

Beyond internal leadership, this position builds external networks to unlock innovation opportunities, fosters knowledge sharing together with the team, and integrates ESG principles into product development and presentations. Acting as a thought leader and influencer, the Product Lead Cutlery ensures the growth of the portfolio by guaranteeing our products remain competitive aligned with customer needs.

Additionally, this role supports successful product launches, conducts post-launch reviews to drive continuous improvement, and supports quality concerns and insourcing initiatives.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Define and lead product portfolio strategy

Develop a strong product portfolio strategy aligned with market trends and business objectives, ensuring internal alignment and buy-in.

2. Drive product innovation and business cases

Lead new product development initiatives and create compelling business cases in collaboration with Sales and Business Support.

3. Manage customer requests and major tenders

Filter and prioritize customer requirements, define the problem to be solved, and determine the best solutions to offer with support of the Product Manager

4. Communicate and inspire:

Present ideas confidently to leadership teams, manage expectations, and pitch product solutions that win over customers and stakeholders.

5. Develop Product Campaigns

Collaborate closely with the Product Marketing team to create and deliver impactful product campaigns that strengthen market positioning and drive customer engagement.

6. Engage commercially

Build strong customer relationships. Collaborate closely with sales teams, while maintaining strong connections with internal operations.

7. Maintain financial and market insights

Analyze market pricing, cost structures, and trends. Conduct make-or-buy assessments and maintain portfolio-related financial and regulatory insights to inform strategic decisions.

8. Foster external engagement and knowledge sharing

Build a network of external experts and innovation partners, and ensuring product training and knowledge sharing together with the team.

9. Integrate ESG principles

Embed sustainability considerations into product presentations and development processes.

Core Competencies and Requirements

Education

• Master degree in Product Development, Economics, Marketing or similar by experience.

Work Experience

• 7–10 years in product management, with at least 1-3 years in a senior/lead capacity (owning a portfolio and influencing cross‑functional roadmaps)
• Proven track record leading end‑to‑end product development and run co-development workshops with customers.
• Commercial exposure: regular customer engagement, co‑creating solutions with key accounts, supporting major tenders/RFQs, and partnering closely with Sales.
• Hands‑on experience with product campaigns in partnership with Product Marketing
• Financial literacy: pricing logic, make‑or‑buy assessments

Technical Skills

Certifcation, licenses and registration

• Understanding of product lifecycle management
• Insight in supply chain or manufacturing (incl. tooling, molding, packaging converting)
• Awareness of customer workflows and operational environments
• Analytics: Excel (advanced), basic financial modeling; familiarity with BI tools (e.g., Power BI).
• Strong PowerPoint skills for leadership narratives and customer presentations

Core Competencies Required

• Strategic planning and product solutions thinking
• Stakeholder and relationship management
• Clear written and verbal communication
• Commercial, marketing and financial skills
• Project & process management
• Creative and analytical problem-solving
• A feeling for design and graphics is a plus
• Background in QSR, foodservice, food packaging, or consumer goods—ideally with sustainable materials (recyclable/compostable/reusable)

Job Dimensions

Cutlery plays a key role in the sensory experience, influencing taste and overall enjoyment of food. Our Cutlery Product Group is one of deSter’s core business segments, delivering innovative cutlery solutions for both the global airline and foodservice markets.

For airlines, we develop, produce, and deliver recyclable, compostable, and reusable cutlery that enhances the passenger dining experience, supports airline sustainability goals, and integrates seamlessly into operations for efficient crew service and catering.

In the foodservice sector, we develop, product and deliver a broad range of cutlery solutions for major QSR brands, events, retail, and the “food-on-the-go” segment.

The Product Manager Cutlery reports into the Product Lead Cutlery

Environment and Safety

Every deSter employee contributes to a safe and environmentally conscious working environment and in doing so assumes the following responsibilities:

• Act in a safe and environmentally conscious manner in all work activities.
• Contribute to deSter's environmental and safety objectives and performance.
• Actively report deviations, hazardous situations and incidents.
• Participate in analyses and initiatives that frame within environment and safety and are
• relevant to the job.

If you want to know more about deSter’s Enviornmental and Social commitments, go to sustainability/

What we offer

Joining deSter means you will become a part of an innovative company with sustainability at heart and colleagues & customers globally. Besides competitive salary and benefits, we also offer hybrid way of working (office/remote) and a team of colleagues that have a passion & enthusiasm for what they do.